w12

• Stage


  How large a tumor is and if it is spreading to other tissue
• Grade


  How abnormal tumor cells look and how fast they are growing
• Aneuploidy


  Property many cancer cells exhibit that means they have abnormal numbers of chromosomes
• Philadelphia chromosome


  Reciprocal translocation between chromosome 9 and 22 that created an abnormally short chromosome
• Bcr-Abl


  This an in frame fusion of the coding region of genes created due to a translocation in chromosome 9 and 22 that is the most consistent cancer-associated chromosome change ever discovered
• Gleevec


  Drug that inhibits overactive Bcr-Abl kinase and helps treat chronic myelinic leukemia
• Dominant


  Property of gain-of-function oncogene mutations that refers to their ability to switch on the gene if only on copy of the gene is modified
• Recessive


  Property of tumor-suppressor gene mutations that refers to the fact that both copies of the gene are usually lost before it experiences its loss of function
• Clonal evolution


  The property of cancerous tumors growing from one original cell
• Driver mutations


  Key mutations in cancer cells that allow unique subpopulations to out compete others and grow into tumors
• Proliferation


  Concept that refers to the fact that the increased number of cancer cells allows for increased chances for mutations to develop
• Genomic instability


  Concept that cancerous cells develop many mutations some of which happen to increase survival/proliferation
• Selection


  Concept that cancer cells that survive and proliferate the best outgrow all the others
• R point


  Cells are responsive to growth signals in the G1 phase until this point is reached at which the decision to divide or not divide is made
• Cdks


  Enzymes that work with cyclins to control steps of the cell cycle
• Rb


  This is the protein that restricts entry into the S phase
• Hypophosphorylation


  This action to the Rb protein precent transcription of the cyclin that would usually initiate the S phase
• Hyperphosphorylation


  this action to the Rb protein at the R point allow cells to enter the S phase and replicate their DNA
• E2F


  This is the factor that binds to Rb to prevent transcription and is released by hyperphosphorylation
• p53


  Tumor suppressor that is the most commonly mutated gene in cancer
• Li-Fraumeni syndrome


  Humans that inherit a p53 inactivation have this syndrome and are at high risk of cancer
• MDM2


  Ubiquitin ligase that targets p53 for degradation in healthy cells
• Phosphorylation


  This change to p53 occurs when cells experience stress
• Tetramer


  Functional structure of p53
• Dominant negative missense mutations


  Concept that p53 can be ruined by single point mutations
• Mutagen


  Agents that cause genetic mutations